Phrasal-Adjectives – Letter P

– Adjectival Phrases – Letter P –

Pp

(to be) As Simple As Pie – This is an idiomatic adjectival phrase with is also a “Simile”, and is used to describe either a thing or an action which is simple, in the sense that it is not complex. And when referring to an action, is also rather easy; not difficult… “I don’t know why people are always complaining about the assembly directions from that Swedish furniture store, putting together our bed was *as simple as pie*.” – (Also note: It is quite common for people [when speaking] to eliminate the first “as”) – (See Also: “A Piece Of Cake”)

(to be) Fast-Paced – This is a phrasal adjective which just describes something as moving very fast. The word pace, here, is used to refer to the consistency and continuous speed of something… “The teacher’s speaking was so *fast-paced* that is was difficult for many of the students to comprehend everything which he was saying.”

(to)Punch/Push/Hit All The Right Buttons – This is an idiomatic adjectival phrase. Though “Punches” “Pushes” and “Hits” are all verbs, this is not describing an action but rather is using an action to describe a thing. In computers, and video games (or even when typing a sentence like this) it is necessary to *Punch, Push or Hit the right buttons* in the correct order in order to achieve the desired state… Therefore, to say that something *punches/pushes/hits all the right buttons* means that the thing one is describing is exactly what is needed for a particular situation. – (See Also: “(something) Ticks All The Boxes“)